If you’re like me and have no idea how someone might use this device, let me direct you to a YouTube video demonstrating how to use the Chef’n Grapefruiter Citrus Sectioning Tool. Careful observation of this video will have you noticing the grapefruit had to first be cut in half with a knife. So, to use the Citrus Sectioning Tool you have to dirty it and a knife … a knife that could easily do the exact same thing. A knife that you already own. A knife that doesn’t have an extra –er tagged onto the end of it for some unknown reason — Grapefruiter?

In case you’ve never sectioned a grapefruit (or orange or one of those cross-breed citrus fruits), check out this other YouTube video demonstrating the simple method I was taught as a child to section a grapefruit with a knife. And, you’ll notice in my preferred method, you can also julienne the sections and dice them and do more fancy things and not call the tool a knifer!

I’m sure the unitasker does a nice job and sections grapefruiter exactly as it describes, but it’s one of those devices that only duplicates one of the thousands of actions you can easily perform with a knife.

Finally, thanks to reader Jillian for bringing this device to our attention.

Sectioning citrus always makes me think of my Grandmother. Every year for Thanksgiving, we would make ambrosia. She always insisted on sectioning the fruit and taking off the section skins – it’s not as easy on an orange as it is a grapefruit since the skin is very thin and tears easily. We would spend hours doing it (by hand with our fingers) and she would complain the whole time. Those are some of my best memories of her.

Anyway, slightly off-topic – just had to share. I definitely prefer the by-hand or knife method!

I dirty two knives … a straight one, to cut the fruit in two. And a curved one, to cut out the segments. Yes, the latter is a semi-uni-tasker — best for citrus fruit, but also can be used when one has no other knife at hand.

I’ll confess to having a curved grapefruit knife, it is a bit easier than using a straight knife for me. But after watching cooking shows, it seems easiest of all to slice the whole peel off and then section the citrus.

Grapefruit spoons not only make eating them directly from the peel easier, they also make wicked good strawberry hullers.

Sectioning grapefruit was the kids’ job in my house growing up. We used the two knife method Nana uses. Now that all the kids have long ago grown up and moved on, my mother **buys** jars of pre-sectioned grapefruit!! <>

I do love my unitasker Pampered Chef grapefruit knife, though. It’s a long thin blade, serrated on both sides and slightly curved at the end. It’s long enough to half the fruit, and the gentle slope is slight enough to slice along the membrane, but curved enough to get the most out of the edges. Once I get going I can section a bag of grapefruit and make the week much easier. This is making me long for grapefruit season! 🙂